— running 26.2 and having foodie adventures too!

Monthly Archives: June 2015

Spring in NYC is one of my favorite times of the year–and I’ve been so lucky to have had several pacing gigs and marathons keeping me busy recently!

First, I wanted to start off with the exciting news that I was published in a profile on Yahoo! Health by reporter Jenna Birch. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined as a 15-year-old high school cross-country runner, that my story would be published on Yahoo! I thank my friends, family, and running family for their support. Thanks to Built with Chocolate Milk and Skechers Performance for sponsoring me and providing me with awesome race gear and shoes that I train & race in! I would also like to thank my contact at Yahoo!, Carolyn Wilde, who believed my story was worth telling!

You can read the article, entitled “Meet the 27-year-old who has run 54 Marathons,” here.

So what else have I been up to? I’ll give a micro-run-down on the many races I have been running:

Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Marathon, 3/14/15

Thanks so much to my sponsors at Built with Chocolate Milk for the opportunity to run this! It was a rainy and cold one–at least it wasn’t windy! Team Chocolate Milk hooked it up with an indoor VIP area at the swanky Intercontinental hotel at the start line. I met up with some teammates, and then braced myself for the rain. Considering that it was medium to heavy rain the whole time (except for the last half-hour), I was pleased with my performance of of 4:49:05 for a full marathon! All the finishers got postage stamp-shaped medals, and full marathon finishers got a sweet Brooks finisher jacket! And of course, I recovered with chocolate milk afterwards. Recovery was super important, since I was running a half marathon the next day!

NYC Half, 3/16/15

I had the honor of co-pacing the 2:30 group for the United Airlines NYC Half, running through the heart of Times Square! Louisa was my co-pacer, but we led separate groups because there was such a huge field. The weather was perfect–a bit chilly at the end, but a couple of my runners ran with me the whole time, and a bunch crushed their goals! It was a great feeling. I was right on target with a 2:29:10 finish!

The expo was also a lot of fun–I was honored to be on the pace booth signage alongside my friend Jackie Choi, with photos from last year’s TCS NYC Marathon! I didn’t get to write a blog post about the marathon last year, but Jackie and I have claim to fame running the entire 2015 TCS NYC Marathon in a unicorn costume as the 5-hour pace group leader! We were shown in Bill Cunningham’s Sunday Styles section (11/7/14) at the 0:53 mark in this video.

Tri-State Spartan Beast NJ 2015

I tackle the Spartan Beast with a bunch of friends and former co-workers–definitely more fun doing it as a team! Mountain Creek is no joke–it is a straight-up ski slope, and we encountered 30+ obstacles and 14+ miles of rough terrain. The worst obstacles, hands-down, were the 300m uphill and 300m downhill climb with a bucket of rocks (for females it felt like 30 lbs, for men probably 45lbs). The bucket had no handle, so you had to awkwardly bear-hug the rocks and slog up the hill. The other tied-for-worst obstacle was the uphill icy barbed wire climb. I had to crawl on ice and rocks on my bare hands and knees to avoid barbed wire. It was very very painful, and I ended up with cuts and bruises that didn’t go away for weeks. Thanks to my teammates for sticking with me!

My finish time was 7:07:42, and I’m damn proud of it!

New Jersey Marathon, 4/25/15

Louisa and I co-paced the 5:10 group this time! My friends and I rented a house on AirBnB and volunteered at the expo the day prior. My dear friend Otto was the pace group coordinator, so I knew many of the returning pacers and it was like a big party!

We had delicious Rook Coffee twice while we were there, and awesome dinner at Gianni’s Pizzeria-they make an amazing chicken risotto soup and the pasta arrabbiata was phenomenal. Rook Coffee had some of the best cold brew I ever had! I will definitely be going back there.

For the actual race, I was suffering a bit, because I had been battling a 2-month cough. It was due to stress and not resting, but no way was I going to miss the race! I’m stubborn like that. Louisa and I stayed on pace for a 5:09:10, but it was one of the hardest pacing gigs I have done, simply because I was under the weather. Hence, we got together for an #ottolamming photo where we collapse, exhausted on our backs. I love my friends!

The North Face Endurance Challenge 50K (Bear Mountain), 5/2/15

The NFEC 50K is one of my favorite races of the year–I always reach the finish line utterly spent, my friends are celebrating with a beer, and I see some pretty amazing scenery, all in one day. The race director does a fantastic job, and the course is really well-marked. The schwag doesn’t disappoint–we get a nice North Face tech tee with a custom screen print, a pair of SmartWool socks, a medal, a hot meal, and a free post-race beer!

The weather was amazing this year–last year was supremely muddy and made for really challenging conditions. So glad this year was “easier.” I was still challenged by the course though–my cough from the previous week still didn’t go away so I went slow and steady at the beginning. I was buoyed by seeing my friends volunteering at various aid stations (thanks!) and sped up towards the end. I ended up with a 12-minute course PR! I will take it. Thanks to Ken Tom and his wife for driving me to the race!

Finish time (course PR), 8:37:02

Photo by Ken Schuh, Ultra Race Photos

My friends and I met ultrarunner Dean Karnazes at the race festival

Photo courtesy of Elaine Acosta

It has been a busy Spring indeed–with plenty more to come. I am signed up for the Ragnar Relay Chicago, the San Francisco Marathon (7/2015), the Rock ‘n’ Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon (10/2015), the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half (10/2015), and I’m pacing the TCS New York City Marathon again! I have to remember to stay healthy and really take care of my body, especially after battling that cough that plagued me for two months. Until next time, and thanks for reading this far!